Mission of ROSA
ROSA aims to conduct high-quality research on issues relating to the well-being of ageing populations and to contribute to a better understanding of the issues in Singapore and other countries in Asia. By continuing to develop a research platform with the infrastructure for high-frequency surveying and a panel for longitudinal studies, it will serve as a resource hub and position SMU as a regional leader in the international network of centres for research on ageing.
The realities of ageing, however, give rise to various challenges for individual well-being that span multiple domains, and the four major dimensions of concern for ROSA are:
- Economic well-being: Issues relating to the access to economic resources and their capacity to contribute to an individual’s needs and aspirations, and their ability to cope with the financial implications of risks such as health-care costs and loss of income through unemployment
- Physical well-being: Issues relating to the functional and organic components of the physical well-being of individuals, as well as the incidence and management of chronic diseases in later life
- Mental well-being: Issues relating to individuals’ cognitive capacity, self-regulation, personality makeup, subjective well-being and other aspects of mental well-being that enable an individual to function in daily life
- Social well-being: Issues relating to the quality of social support, social participation and integration, and the social contribution and acceptance individuals experience in the three layers of family, community and society
Over the course of five years (2020–2025), ROSA will continue to undertake one of the largest high-frequency surveys in the world that began under CREA - the Singapore Life Panel® (SLP). The SLP is a longitudinal, high-frequency survey of a cohort aged 55-75 yielding about 7,500 responses each month. As the centre transitions into ROSA, the SLP will be refreshed with a wider and larger sample, as well as a broader research focus outlined above. Thus, the research at ROSA will continue to build a unique picture of ageing in Singapore.
VISION OF ROSA
ROSA’s primary vision is to help create a society that is well-prepared to overcome the challenges faced by an ageing population. To this end, the centre will strive to harness the many insights provided by academic research across multiple disciplines on the ageing situation to inform policy recommendations that improve the well-being of older adults.
The principal objectives for ROSA to achieve this vision are thus to:
Develop a robust conceptual definition of holistic well-being as well as measurements of this multi-dimensional construct, and generate important insights on the factors that impact Singaporeans’ holistic well-being as they transition from the Third to Fourth Age;
Quantify the causal impact of life events and economic, health, and social policies on the well-being of older adults;
Work closely with partner agencies to translate research insights into policy impact that advances the well-being of older adults holistically and promotes successful ageing in Singapore
KEY CAPABILITIES OF ROSA
- A national centre for research on successful ageing
- A frontier data-collection programme
- A state-of-the-art life-cycle model for retirement
- Developing the research infrastructure in significant applied fields spanning the four dimensions of well-being
- Translating research findings into policy implications to promote successful ageing among Singaporeans in collaboration with public and private sector agencies